Lake St. Clair muck removal pilot project expected to start in November

The removal of the algae muck from select locations along the Lake St. Clair shore in Macomb County as part of a pilot project is expected to begin in November, county Public Works Commissioner Candice S. Miller announced Monday.

The algae, formally known as Microseira wollei (M. wollei) cyanobacteria, has plagued pockets of the Lake St. Clair shore in Macomb County, and the removal of it from targeted locations is part of a new, 3-year field trial to learn more about how to manage it long-term. "Our department has stepped up even though we don't have jurisdiction over Lake St. Clair but everything we do is with an eye toward water quality which equals quality of life," Miller said. "It's a step in the right direction. Obviously, we believe that this is a State of Michigan issue, and we're hoping that the State of Michigan comes in and picks up the ball here and continues to fund the muck removal and also studying what is happening here."

The removal is expected to start in mid- to late-November, weather permitting, at Veterans Memorial Park in St. Clair Shores, and the marina at Hidden Cove Condominiums south of the Clinton River Spillway in Harrison Township. That marina has accumulated thick mats of muck which has rendered the boat slips unusable. The contractor at those locations, Dean Marine & Excavating, has received permits from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The company will take the muck by barge to property it owns near the Rouge River, where it will be dried out for subsequent disposal in a landfill.

The purpose of the field trial is to evaluate removal techniques; to study how long it takes wind and waves to re-deposit offshore algae to the shore; and to remove it from the lakebed to examine its potential regrowth or migration.Muck removal at Campau Bay on South River Road near the mouth of the Clinton River in Harrison Township is expected to start in the spring and be conducted by Sediment Lakes Aquatic Management. Based on limited funding and guided by the goals of the field trial, the three shoreline locations where the muck removal will be performed are a combination of public and private sites where the geometry of the shore has less wave action than straight sections.

A separate section of the lakebed in Campau Bay will be cleared of M. wollei to determine growth and migration patterns of the algae. The field trial is funded by a $800,000 state earmark sponsored by state Representative Alicia St. Germaine and state Senator Kevin Hertel. "This is just the beginning of our efforts to find a long-term solution to the muck problem on Lake St. Clair. By continuing to bring our local, state and federal partners together, we can make real progress in protecting Lake St. Clair for generations to come," St. Germaine said. "Because state and local leaders had the will to set politics aside, work across the aisle, and put our community's needs first, we're finally able to start cleaning up some of the muck that's been plaguing our Lake St. Clair shoreline," said Hertel. "Thank you to Candice Miller for working with us and helping lead this project."

In recent years, M. wollei has formed dense mats along the shoreline, particularly in stagnant parts. It grows on the lakebed and has been found as much as 1.5 miles offshore and becomes dislodged through wind and wave agitation, floats to the surface and eventually deposits along parts of the shoreline. Based on cost figures received from dredging contractors that responded to a request for proposals, the removal of muck from 10 shoreline locations identified as having the most significant M. wollei mats would have cost more than $3.3 million.This phase in tackling the M. wollei issue was recommended by the Army Corps of Engineers after wildlife biologists at its Engineer Research and Development Center in Alabama in 2024 completed a two-year field research and sampling analysis of the algae in Lake St. Clair including how it grows. That work was funded by a $400,000 study that was paid evenly by the USACE and Macomb County - even though the county does not have jurisdiction of Lake St. Clair.